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Police shootings inquest: Officer who shot Eligon said he had no choice

As Michael Eligon advanced toward him swinging two pairs of scissors in the air, a Toronto police officer felt he had to shoot the mentally ill man to save his own life, an inquest heard Monday.

Const. Louie Cerqua, who had been on the job for nine months at the time, testified that Eligon was “angling” toward him as he and several other officers backed up with their guns drawn, yelling “drop the weapons!” on Feb. 3, 2012.

“Mr. Eligon wasn’t stopping. He wasn’t responding to any of the commands,” said Cerqua. “I was concerned for my safety. I was scared for my life.”

At one point, he said he yelled at Eligon, “Drop the weapon or you will be shot.”

He testified that Eligon looked at him and said, “One of you is going to die” — although he acknowledged that some officers did not hear the comment and others remember it differently.

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As Cerqua backed up on the south side of Milverton Blvd., he could feel he was getting close to the curb and running out of space. When Eligon came within 2½ to three metres, the officer fired three shots.

Eligon crumpled instantly, falling forward onto the ground.

The 29-year-old father died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. His death is being examined in a coroner’s inquest into the fatal police shootings of three mentally ill people.

Earlier that morning, Eligon had escaped from nearby Toronto East General Hospital, where he had been admitted for a mental health assessment. He stole two pairs of scissors from a convenience store, cutting the shopkeeper’s hand before heading to a residential neighbourhood in the Danforth and Coxwell Aves. area.

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Eligon, who suffered from depression and delusions, asked two nearby drivers for their car keys and attempted to enter a home, prompting several 911 calls. As many as a dozen officers responded and found Eligon on Milverton Blvd.

Cerqua testified he was “surprised” when Eligon emerged from a driveway, swinging two pairs of scissors back and forth in front of his body.

“I only had a few months on the job at that point, so it’s a pretty serious situation to be involved in, to be confronted by somebody with an edged weapon,” he said.

Cerqua said he made eye contact with Eligon, whose eyes were “wide” and staring at him. “I realized something was going on emotionally with Mr. Eligon at this time,” he testified.

Peter Rosenthal, lawyer for Eligon’s family, questioned Cerqua’s testimony that Eligon was advancing toward him. In a dashboard video of the shooting, it appears Eligon is moving straight forward while Cerqua is standing at an angle off to the side.

“It’s clear that Mr. Eligon is not posing any immediate danger to any officer,” Rosenthal said outside the courtroom. “He was still 8 to 10 feet from the officers. It’s very unfortunate that there was a shooting at that point, in my view.”

But Cerqua testified Eligon was not walking straight but following the officers in a zigzag motion.

“My life was in danger,” he said. “He was looking at me and coming towards me.”

Rosenthal questioned a police training guideline called the “21-foot rule,” which instructs officers to draw their guns when they are within 21 feet (6½ metres) of an edged weapon. But Cerqua said he allowed Eligon to get much closer before he fired.

“It’s not something that, at 21 feet, I draw that line and I fire my gun. That’s not how it works,” he said. “No officer wants to be involved in that situation, so they’re going to do their best to disengage them and back up.”

Cerqua testified his baton or pepper spray were not viable options. He also said he didn’t try speaking to Eligon in a “soft tone” because officers are trained to issue loud commands to people with edged weapons.

As Eligon lay wounded on the ground, his arms were still holding the scissors and swinging in the air, Cerqua said. He and other officers began kicking at his hands to get the scissors away.

The officer was taken to the hospital after the shooting because his shin was “split open,” apparently by the scissors, he said.

Asked by a juror if there were any recommendations he would like to see, Cerqua said hospitals should ensure mental health patients were not able to escape.

“Once they leave and they cross that threshold, and they’re in a residential area at 10 a.m., it’s now our responsibility,” he said. “That’s what’s evident through this incident. It can end in tragedy.”

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